


Would You Rather? I Would Rather Not.

by BeanTodoroki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Flirting, Goshiki is Baby, Kawanishi and Shirabu Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Salty Kawanishi, Semi is Oblivious, SemiShira - Freeform, Tags Are Hard, Underage Drinking, Unrequited Crush, slight terushira
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22268680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeanTodoroki/pseuds/BeanTodoroki
Summary: A game of Would You Rather manages to stir up some drama for the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club. Semi ends up in a very awkward position, Shirabu ends up hurt, Kawanishi ends up pissed, and the rest of the team ends up confused.
Relationships: Semi Eita/Shirabu Kenjirou
Comments: 19
Kudos: 160





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my attempt at a multichapter fic for one of my favorite pairings. It will be slightly OOC probably, because I am entirely unable to not self project onto salty setters. I hope you enjoy! Criticism is always welcome!

The Shiratorizawa team handled the nights at the end of the training camp in true teen fashion with plates stacked impossibly high with pizza and soda glasses clinking everytime they were set on the small table in front of them. Lips always got looser towards the end of the night whenever sleepiness settled over the team, and the atmosphere turned calmer. Tendou got tired of pranking Goshiki, since it was always way too easy. He would attempt to prank the others but nobody was as trusting. He offered up a few ideas, most of which were shot down quite fast because, no, Tendou, nobody wanted to play a scary game before bed or talk about the new anime he started watching. Truth or dare was decidedly banned after coach got woken up to Semi scream-singing Barbie Girl. So, he suggested it as a last resort. 

“What about Would You Rather?” Tendou questioned from his spot draped over everyone sitting on the couch. Whenever he said it, he flicked a hand in the air with flourish and succeeded in knocking Semi’s glasses off of his face. Semi heard Shirabu snicker quietly and turned to glare at him. Shirabu quickly looked away and coughed.

“Damnit, Satori! Can you please just sit on the couch like a normal person?” he pleaded.

“Oh Semi-Semi, you know I can’t do anything like a normal person!” Tendou giggled as he struggled to keep Semi from throwing him onto the floor.

“I think Would You Rather would be fun!” Goshiki piped up, ever excited and ever grating on Shirabu’s nerves. He didn’t know how he got sat next to the overgrown child on the couch and he regretted it whenever he got his ear screamed in for the millionth time that night.

Goshiki was saved from sure destruction whenever Kawanishi tapped on Shirabu’s shoulder and mimicked Goshiki’s excited face and completed it by mouthing, “Notice me, senpai.” Fighting back laughter was easy enough once Shirabu looked towards Ushijima to see him seriously considering the idea.

“What is this game?” Ushijima asked after a few seconds.

Yamagata quickly explained the rules of this game and seemed excited enough to play it. Nobody had any objections excluding Shirabu, who was in turn ignored because he always had objections. They decided to use a website to generate them and made it more interesting by deciding they would choose who they ask after seeing the question.

“I’ll go first!” Tendou screeched as he clicked on the generator and started it up. “Ooh! I think I’m going to choose Tsutomu-kun for this one! Would you rather be completely bald or have hair covering your entire body?” Tendou inquired from his perch on the arm of the couch, Semi having pushed him there eventually. 

For a second Goshiki looked entirely confused and shocked before he managed to answer, “Umm… I think.. Probably bald? I could be like a really cool monk or something if I was bald. Being completely covered in hair sounds scary. I also couldn’t spike as well if I had hair on my palms.”

“You couldn’t be a monk, you don’t know how to shut the fuck up.” Kenjirou voiced almost immediately. This roused a snort from Kawanishi, a pout from Goshiki, and a chiding from Semi on proper language. Tendou called him a mom and was promptly elbowed in the ribs.

After seeing Shirabu get scolded, Goshiki now had a smug smile on. He was handed the laptop by Tendou and quickly generated a question. His eyes lit up whenever he found the perfect prompt for Ushijima. He didn’t know how you won at Would You Rather, but he definitely would figure it out.

With a point towards Ushijima he questioned, “Ushijima-senpai! Would you rather have no eyebrows or a unibrow?” He had a face like he managed to trap Ushijima and all the team could do was collectively roll their eyes. Semi felt a fond smile crawl to his face whenever he realized he was going to miss this team once he graduated. Shirabu, for all the assumptions that he avoided Semi or ignored him, actually constantly watched him. Nobody noticed, with the exception of Kawanishi who teased him mercilessly about it. He felt something crawling to his throat and had to look away should he do something foolish, like smile as well or reach between the small space and punch him for making him think these stupid thoughts. Shirabu was always weaker to Semi’s charms whenever he would wear his glasses. Kawanishi met his eye and made an exaggerated motion with his eyebrows.

“I think I would rather have a unibrow. I could always fix that. If I had no eyebrows I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.” Ushijima answered swiftly.

This answer seemed to make Goshiki feel bested and he deflated a bit.

“I would much rather have no eyebrows. I could draw my eyebrows in as many crazy ways as I wanted to! I’d just have to steal Semi-Semi’s eyeliner and I’d be good to go.” Tendou chimed in.

This was the first Shirabu had heard about Semi wearing eyeliner. He wanted to see but knew that was an awful idea. His eyes looked really good as it was, and he didn’t want them to look even better. After all, he didn’t want to be too fucked. Kawanishi’s voice in his head informed him that he was in fact, very fucked. He chose to ignore it. Realizing that he had been zoned out for a bit he came to whenever Tendou started poking him mercilessly. 

“Fuck off! What?!” he sneered and went to grab his hand. He pulled away too fast and wagged a finger in his face.

“Wakatoshi asked you a question! You really need to respect your seniors whenever they’re talking and stop daydreaming about Semi-Semi in eyeliner.” Tendou said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Oh hell no. Shirabu wasn’t about to be discovered by Tendou. Thankfully, he had a very convincing poker face and could dial up the sarcasm.

“Ah yes, my dream is to see Semi in eyeliner. I’ve always liked bad boys. And honestly, he’s bad at everything.” Shirabu replied with a blank face.

Semi locked eyes with him and glared and seemed like he was truly about to go off until Ushijima asked the question again.

“Would you rather not be able to smell or not be able to taste, Shirabu?” he questioned looking entirely too serious for a dumb game.

“Not be able to smell, probably. I need cinnamon rolls to live,” he said with a sigh. What he wouldn’t give to be eating a cinnamon roll right now. 

“Then die, maybe,” Semi responded finally getting a word in. Shirabu just looked away and acted as if he didn’t hear him, knowing that riled him up more than anything.

“I see,” was all Ushijima said in response. Ushijima was definitely taking this game way too seriously.

Seeing as it was Shirabu’s turn to choose a question he decided to direct it at Semi in retaliation. He steeled himself to ask whatever it was no matter what. It was decidedly pretty safe so he chose not to back out.

“Semi-san, would you rather be able to read minds or to see the future?” he questioned, not even looking at him in order to piss him off even more. 

“Hmm.. I think I’d rather read minds. It would be strange to know what everyone thinks of me, but I think it would be useful. Would definitely help with volleyball, too,” Semi responded with a scoff after seeing Shirabu wasn’t even watching him. What an absolute brat. 

Shirabu got a line between his eyebrows and looked over, ready to start an argument.

“I think seeing the future would be a lot more useful. Especially for volleyball. Some people move on instinct and don’t think before they do anything so reading minds wouldn’t help. But seeing the future you could know exactly what they were going to do and when they would do it,” he sighed, “that’s not even mentioning the humanitarian work one could do if they could predict things like natural disasters or deaths.” He got a haughty look on his face and turned his nose in the air.

“Guys. This is supposed to be a fun game. Not a competition. Do I need to make you guys play nice?” Oohira popped up with a faux serene smile on his face. No doubt he could definitely kick any of their asses. Shirabu got a little red in the face and apologized to him quietly.

Semi didn’t get to respond and that was eating him up inside so he stuck to sneaking little glares at Shirabu whenever Oohira was looking the other way. Shirabu looked deep in thought though so he wasn’t getting anywhere. He sighed and realized that this was entirely too childish. He was 18 now and shouldn’t keep getting into squabbles with his bratty underclassman. 

The game continued until Shirabu started to fall asleep sitting up. He was always the first to go. He had a strict routine at home to be asleep by ten and staying up until one in the morning drained all that he had. They knew he was really out once he fell asleep and ended up with his head on Goshiki’s shoulder. Semi forgot whenever they chose seating arrangements that this was how he always ended up, a heavy weight on either someone’s lap or someone’s shoulder. He felt for his junior who had to deal with Shirabu’s embarrassed anger once he awoke.

Shirabu was starting to get pissed off because his pillow would not stop moving around. Every five seconds he was jostled. He thought that maybe he fell asleep in a bus or fuck, maybe even on a horse with how much his pillow shifted. He started to wake up and felt himself falling rapidly forward. He scrambled to gain purchase on something and grabbed ahold of whatever was nearest and held on for dear life. He better not die because he actually fell asleep on a horse. Kawanishi would never let him hear the end of that in the afterlife.

It happened so fast Semi didn’t even realize what was going on until it was too late. Goshiki noticed that Shirabu was waking up, and he got scared. So scared of his wrath, in fact, that he thought a good remedy would be to push Shirabu off of him before he was awake. He miscalculated in his fear, however. What was supposed to be a light push to get him to sit up straight before he woke up, launched him into Semi’s lap all the way across the L-shaped couch. Shirabu woke up to find himself pressed into someone’s chest and gripping onto said person’s shirt. He definitely wasn’t on a horse.

Realizing that he was probably safe and most likely embarrassing himself he let go of the shirt and drew his head back slowly. It wouldn’t make a difference but he felt like if he reacted too much it would draw even more attention to him. Semi looked down at him with a very shocked expression on his face. Shirabu knew he had a habit of getting too angry when he was embarrassed but he couldn’t help himself. 

“What the fuck?!” he yelled, causing Semi to move his head back abruptly and change his expression for an angrier one. 

“I don’t know? One minute I’m just sitting here, the next you’re in my lap. I would’ve dropped you but you had ahold of my shirt so hard I’ll be surprised if it isn’t stretched out!” Semi responded sounding just as confused and angry as Shirabu was. Shirabu then realized he was still in Semi’s lap and hopped off and started stomping out the door. He just knew his face was flaming and he didn’t want to deal with the teasing from it.

“What just happened?” Yamagata voiced what everyone wanted to know.

“I just meant to push him over a little bit. I didn’t- I didn’t mean to do that! I knew he was going to be angry with me when he got up, so I, I wanted to get him off of my shoulder. I pushed him too hard! I’m sorry Semi-san!” Goshiki made apology after apology and looked on the verge of tears. 

Semi gave him a calm smile and responded, “It’s not your fault. He definitely overreacted.”

“You didn’t help the situation a whole lot, Semi-Semi. Poor thing was embarrassed and you made it worse,” Tendou responded with a fake look of disapproval. Ushijima informed Semi that he thought he should find Shirabu and make amends, agreeing with Tendou that he was at fault, too. One look at Oohira’s stern face and he got up and decided to start looking for Shirabu.

There weren’t a lot of places Shirabu could go and Yamagata told Semi before that whenever Shirabu was unable to sleep he would go out onto the balcony. He took a deep breath before he opened the side door, reminding himself to remain calm. Opening the door quietly apparently wasn’t possible. It creaked quite loudly and resulted in Shirabu looking over almost immediately. Once he saw who it was his face became drained of color and he started to look more and more like a trapped animal as the seconds ticked by. Semi decided he should probably talk before Shirabu decided to do something stupid like scale the balcony in an effort to escape. 

“Listen, I know you were embarrassed but that’s no reason to scream in people’s faces,” Semi spoke into the quiet night. He then realized that he sounded like he was lecturing the setter whenever that wasn’t his intention. Before he could remedy the situation Shirabu scoffed and turned away.

“I wasn’t embarrassed, Semi-san. I was angry that I woke up that close to someone I hate,” he responded while looking towards the stars. They lit up his face and made his attempt at lying fall short whenever Semi spotted the red coloring his cheeks.

Semi decided not to point that out because it would drag this out even longer and honestly, he was really cold already. He wondered how Shirabu wasn’t freezing, seeing as he was very small and only wearing a T-shirt. Semi had some weight on him and still shivered in the pullover he had on. He decided to just apologize, although the thought made him grimace. Before he could figure out how to apologize for doing nothing wrong in his eyes, Shirabu was speaking again.

“Why would you want to read minds, anyways?” Shirabu asked, still looking away. 

This confused Semi. They had never had a casual conversation as far as he could remember, and this was definitely new territory. If it kept his pride intact and meant he didn’t have to apologize, though, he’d bite.

“Like I said before, it would help with volleyball. I also just really want to know what some people think about me. Some people are difficult to read and I would want to know how others see me. I don’t think I would like to know what everyone thinks of me, though. I know some people just don’t like me and I think hearing what they thought would be awful on my mental health. Like I probably wouldn’t want to look into your head, if that makes sense,” he answered seriously.

Shirabu’s mouth responded before his mind could catch up, “I wouldn’t want you to know what I think about you, either.” 

His upperclassman could only watch in confusion as Shirabu realized what he said and the color on his cheeks extended over his entire face. Shirabu could tell Semi started thinking and knew that was dangerous for him. After all, Semi wasn’t stupid. He was certainly oblivious, but not dumb.

“I could tell you what a lot of others think of you, if you’d like. A lot of the girls in my grade say things that I'm sure would boost your ego,” Shirabu said quickly, attempting to divert Semi’s attention.

Semi chuckled, not rising to Shirabu’s bait for once. The silence afterwards was deafening to Shirabu, he could almost see the pieces falling into place in Semi’s head. 

“I’m going to head in, I’m getting cold,” he said as he darted towards the door. Semi stood in front of it, blocking his exit. Shirabu looked at Semi. Semi looked at Shirabu. Time seemed to stand still until Semi started to peel his pullover off. 

“Here, wear this. It should keep you warm. I’m enjoying conversation with you for once, so don’t ruin it,” Semi said with a smug smile.

Shirabu genuinely thought about scaling the side of the balcony, proving that he was in fact, very stupid. He looked at the pullover that was inches from his face. He looked up at Semi, who had an eyebrow raised while he watched him. Internally screaming, Shirabu took the pullover and put it on. The first thing he noticed was the scent. The smell that was purely Semi, hair gel and all, enveloped him and managed to bring the blush on his face out even more. He then realized that the pullover, which was baggy on even Semi, truly swamped him. Semi may have only had a few inches on him, but he definitely had quite a bit of mass on him. Where Shirabu was delicate and thin, Semi was broad shouldered and muscled. 

Semi could hardly hear the quiet thank you Shirabu released as he backed up a bit. His entire face was red and he looked on the verge of tears. Semi felt a little bad for not just letting him go, but it wasn’t everyday you found out your bratty teammate liked you. Or maybe he just found him attractive. He didn’t seem to enjoy his personality, too much. Shirabu started to shake a bit and he realized that he should probably talk before Shirabu thought he was mad at him or something. Words really weren’t his strong suit, though.

“So, what, you think I’m hot or something?” he asked with a cheeky smile. 

Shirabu looked up at him, looking entirely devastated. Semi noticed the tear tracks going down his face and realized that at one point, him being on the verge of tears turned into him crying. 

“Can I just go to sleep, Semi-san? I won’t bother you about this, I promise,” he finally spoke, voice cracking at certain points. All Semi could do was dumbly nod and move out of his way. Shirabu pulled the pullover off and placed it in his hands and scurried passed him.

Thankfully for Shirabu, everyone was wrapped up in a stupid conversation and didn’t notice him return, with the exception of Kawanishi. He looked up and realized Shirabu had been crying and pulled up the top of his sleeping bag, patting the small space beside him and inviting him in. Shirabu figured he really couldn’t embarrass himself anymore than he already had and cuddled up to his best friend. Kawanishi raised an eyebrow at him and Shirabu shook his head. Kawanishi nodded and they made a silent agreement to talk about it in the morning. The last thing Shirabu heard before he finally fell asleep were the team pinch server’s footsteps as he made his way into the room.


	2. It Isn't Black and White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yahashira friendship is introduced, Shirabu has a thing for bad boys, Terushima is a giant flirt, Semi almost gets punched, and most of all, Kawanishi's mom is an angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I said i'd update sooner, but work really be kicking my butt right now. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've been working on it off and on since I posted the first. Criticism is always appreciated!

Kawanishi was angry whenever Shirabu walked back into the room and looked as if he had been crying. He was pissed whenever Shirabu refused to eat the next morning and wouldn’t even talk to him. He was absolutely livid whenever he managed to prod Shirabu enough to hear what happened the night prior. He was expecting Shirabu to say that they got into a short fight or he was just really embarrassed, not expecting to hear that Semi acted like an absolute douchebag after finding out that Shirabu liked him. Who the fuck did Semi think he was, honestly? He understood that Shirabu and him had bad blood and he was mad about him taking his position but this was ridiculous. Kawanishi could physically feel his temper flare up everytime he saw the pinch server around for the rest of the training camp. The only reason he was staying quiet was because he didn’t want to upset Shirabu anymore than he already was. If he had it his way, he definitely would have a talk with Semi. 

“Kenji, can I beat the fuck out of him?” he asked casually one night while they were playing Four Swords. Shirabu looked confused for a moment until he realized who he meant. He set the controller down and sighed.

“You would get kicked out of the school if you guys got into a fight, so no. Just drop it. I’ll be okay,” he answered him. Kawanishi didn’t believe him for one minute. Kenjirou always kept his side of the dorm spotless, listened to music any chance he got, and talked on and on about new cat videos he saw to the point of annoyance. This wasn’t his best friend. Just looking over onto his side of the room he saw mounds of clothes, his bed was unmade, and his books were laying haphazardly all over his desk. The last time he heard Kenjroui sing along to some weird indie pop artist was the night before the training camp and he hadn’t even seen him touch his phone to look at cats in quite a while. 

“Do you wanna go visit my mom tomorrow, then?” Taichi asked, “I haven’t seen her since she left for that work trip and I really miss her food.”

Shirabu tutted and turned towards him, “You should want to visit your mom because she’s a gift, Taichi. Not because you want her to cook for you.”

“This is why you’re her favorite.”

Shirabu huffed out a laugh and told him to pass the chips.

Kawanishi-san welcomed them the next day with open arms and she had hot tea already made for them. 

“Kenjirou-kun! I told you to make sure Taichi came around to visit more often. He hasn’t seen me in weeks! Why is that?” she scolded him while she fussed over his hair. 

“He’s heartbroken, ma. It’s not his fault,” Taichi answered before he could make up some lie about schoolwork, like a true traitor.

She grabbed Shirabu’s hand and squeezed. “Why didn’t you tell me? Was it that Futakuchi boy you always hang around? He looks like bad news and I knew it from the start!” she sighed and shook her head. “You need a good boy who treats you nice! Like Taichi,” she finished with a smile.

She always tried to set them up together, much to both of the boys’ chagrin. They had no romantic feelings for eachother, but Kenjirou supposed she was worried Taichi would end up alone because of his chronic laziness and lack of cleanliness. 

“It has nothing to do with Kenji. We’re just friends, just like Taichi and I. It was just some stupid boy on the team. I’m already pretty much over it. Just a crush,” the more Shirabu talked, the more he sounded like he was convincing himself. 

Taichi’s mom only responded by squeezing his hand harder. Kenjirou could feel himself getting close to crying, although he was trying to fight it as much as possible. Once he felt Taichi put a comforting hand on his shoulder, he broke.

He let out a sigh and let the tears fall. “I like him so much and he hates me! What am I supposed to do? I know I’m not always friendly with him, but I didn’t think I was ever mean. He keeps trying to talk to me about it but I can’t sit there and listen to him tell me that he doesn’t feel the same,” he cried.

“I think he’s just an asshole,” Taichi huffed. 

“Taichi! Language!” his mom smacked his arm lightly. “Maybe he said the wrong thing and wants to apologize? He probably feels guilty if he knows you’re this upset. I know it’s easy to just assume he’s a bad guy and he hurt you on purpose, but people are complicated,” she mused. 

“Nope. Not happening. I don’t care if he apologizes. Still gonna hate him,” Taichi responded childishly.

Finally out of tears, Shirabu spoke. “It seemed like it was going well. We were having an actual conversation! Then I went and said something stupid. But then he acted like my feelings were some sort of joke to him. He’s so conceited and I hate him!” he screamed into a decorative throw pillow.

Kawanishi’s mom patted Shirabu’s back in a calming manner and waved Taichi out to the kitchen to grab some snacks. It was shaping up to be a long visit.

Once they left with their full stomachs and some of the weight lifted off of Shirabu’s shoulders, they decided to head back to the dorms as soon as possible in an effort to beat the traffic. Kenjirou figured he probably wouldn’t be able to handle dealing with sitting in a car for any longer than he had to. Taichi was happy to see that the moment they got into the car, Kenjirou started playing with the stereo. If the songs he played turned out to all be sad love songs, well, nobody but them had to know.

“I look stupid. I’m changing,” Shirabu cringed at the picture looking back at him in the mirror. Pastels did not look good on him, no matter what anyone said. He looked like a ten year old. There was a small party going on tonight, nothing too crazy, and he knew that some of his teammates would be there. He’d never hear the end of it from Tendou if he willingly chose to dress like an elementary schooler. 

“Don’t you dare take that off! You’re going to wear that and you’re going to like it. You look so damn cute,” Yahaba squawked from his seat on Kenjirou’s bed. “If you want him to notice you, you can’t just wear a shirt and jeans!”

“This is a normal fucking shirt, Shiggy, it’s just purple. And guess what else I have on right now? JEANS!” he yelled, exasperated already. “Besides, I’m not trying to get anyone to notice me, thank you. I’m trying to avoid that, actually.”

Shigeru rolled his eyes and flipped over onto his stomach. He started picking at the threads on the comforter and Shirabu knew he was in for it now. He would do anything if it meant he didn’t have to deal with Yahaba in “caring friend mode”. 

“He really hurt you, didn’t he?” he asked with a frown. Whenever Kenjirou didn’t respond he tried again, “I can talk to him for you, if you want. I’ve been told I can be pretty scary sometimes.”

Shirabu wondered how the hell he was friends with so many violent individuals. He then remembered that he had one hell of a temper and figured that it’s probably who he fit in with the best. “I don’t want you to talk to him and I don’t want Taichi to talk to him. He doesn’t have to like me. It’s probably best he doesn’t anyways. He has to graduate soon and it’ll only cause problems,” he reasoned. 

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You and I both know if he confessed to you, you’d fucking lose it with how happy you’d be,” Yahaba snarked back. “We just have to make him realize what he’s missing out on. You’re cute, you’re hardworking, and you’re funny. Sure, you might be a bitch all the time, you might not be able to sing very well, and you might annoy everyone with how much you talk about cats, but everyone has to sacrifice some things,” he laughed and dodged as Kenjirou launched his discarded shirt at him. 

Groaning, Kenjirou responded, “You’re really not helping.”

“I was kidding, Kenjirou, anyone would love to be with you. If you’re really willing to be done with him, I definitely know some people that are interested,” Shigeru raised his eyebrows dramatically.

He turned the idea over in his head for a while. Talking to someone else definitely wouldn’t hurt him. It’d be good for him to get some distance, he figured. If he were to start talking to someone new, tonight would be a good night for that. Then he wouldn’t be so wrapped up in what Semi was doing. Whether he was talking to someone else, laughing with them, kissing them… he shook his head to dispel those thoughts, knowing they would only hurt him. It wasn’t like he had any claim to his senior either.

Nodding at Yahaba and confirming that he would be interested in meeting others resulted in Yahaba squealing and telling him all about the boys that were going to be there tonight. 

“What about him,” Yahaba asked showing Shirabu a picture on his phone. “He’s really cute. Kind of rude, but not awful.”

Kenjirou leaned in closer and had to admit, he was pretty cute. His hair was dyed blonde on the top and was darker on the bottom of his undercut and from one of the pictures he could see that he had a stud in his tongue. 

“I knew you liked bad boys! I knew it and you told me no!”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You didn’t have to, Kenji. I know that look. You think he’s hot!”

“Shut up! I do not. He’s gross.”

“So you don’t want me to introduce you to him?”

“Fuck off…” Kenjirou blushed lightly, “...will you, please?”

After admitting to his friend that he may have a type and that type may or may not be bad boys, he was told he’d introduce them. Shirabu started fretting over what he would say almost immediately. Honestly, he’d never flirted with anyone. He’d never so much as been on a date with anyone other than the girls his dad set him up with, and those were just in an effort to turn him “normal”. He told his friend as much and Shigeru just laughed. He was informed that Yuuji, as Shigeru called him, would definitely take matters into his own hands. Apparently he’d asked about Shirabu before whenever he saw pictures of him, and Yahaba never told him anything because he figured Kenjirou would get annoyed with him if he tried to set him up with someone when he was already interested in Semi. 

“What’s he like?” Kenjirou asked while Yahaba straightened his hair. He finally agreed to wear the shirt after Shigeru threatened to not straighten his hair for him.

“Honestly, you’re going to think he’s kind of annoying at first,” he clicked his tongue, “He has a very bright personality. But, I think he could wear on you after a while,” he paused. “Listen, though, I don’t think he’s looking for anything too serious. But I figure you probably aren’t right now either. I didn’t say anything to him so you can always back out if you need to.”

Kenjirou let himself sink into the floor a little more and ponder this. Was he willing to do something that wasn't serious? Kenjirou had never even so much as kissed someone and felt his stomach drop. Was this going to be a hookup? He really didn't want that. 

His friend noticed him spiraling and quickly piped up, "It's not like you're thinking, Kenji. You're just going to talk to him and flirt a bit, if you want. He won't expect anything else and if he tries anything I'll be talking to him."

He felt himself relaxing a little and sighed. No matter how much he claimed to hate his friend, he knew he always had his best interests at heart and wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. He really was a good friend. Maybe Kenjirou should buy him some of his beloved ikura don to show his appreciation. 

"If it's not going to be anything like that I don't really understand why he'd want to meet me, though," Kenjirou exhaled, "I'm not exactly the most interesting person and I highly doubt I'm a very good flirt. I don't want to waste his time."

He felt a pinch to his side and shrieked loudly.

"I swear! You're so ridiculous sometimes. You're a very interesting person and anyone who gets to breathe the same air as you I would consider blessed. Listen to me. You're going to go to this party, you're going to flirt with a cute boy, and you're gonna live your best life, you hear me?!" Yahaba screeched into his ear, rendering him momentarily deaf.

After pinching him back in retaliation, he thanked Yahaba and asked where he'd be without him. He was then asked who the sappy one was now, which earned his friend another pinch. The rest of the time spent getting ready passed by without issue.

"Are you mad at me?" Semi asked from the passenger seat of Kawanishi's car. 

Taichi looked over at him for a moment. He really did look like he felt guilty. That was good. He wished Semi didn't live as close to him so that when he was asked to pick the pinch server up he had a good excuse. He really didn't want to drive with him to the party.

Noticing he was lost in his thoughts and Semi looked confused he answered, "If Kenjirou didn't already tell me no, I would've punched you the moment you came out of your house."

Shock colored Semi's face for a moment until it faded into something that looked like he was resigned to this fate. 

"If you punched me I'd cover for you and say it was someone else. I feel like a huge asshole," Semi replied with a frown.

"As you should. I'm not going to hit you, though. Unlike some people I would never do anything to hurt Kenji and lying to him wouldn't make him happy," Taichi said in a bored tone.

Eita put his hands over his face and exhaled. This was going to be a long ride. He may as well use this time to try and explain himself so Kawanishi didn't hate him forever. 

"I keep trying to apologize to him but he keeps avoiding me. I don't even really understand what I did wrong. All I know is I made him upset. I was just trying to make a joke," he whined.

This was news to Taichi. He assumed that Semi knew that Shirabu liked him and just chose to be mean to him about it. He made a motion with his hand to get Semi to continue.

"I thought he was saying that I was attractive but I think maybe he thought I was like calling him gay to make fun of him or something? He looked really embarrassed. But like, I'm not straight and I thought he knew that? Maybe he just doesn't like gay people," Semi shrugged.

This was the moment that Taichi lost it. He started off chuckling and it soon evolved into loud cackles. It got so bad he had to pull over. He always thought Semi was a smart guy, but maybe he was wrong. Apparently he was entirely oblivious.

"Dude, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did I say something that funny?" Semi started freaking out amidst all of the loud laughter.

Slowly the laughter died down to giggling. Taichi breathed out slowly and thought about what to say. If he told Semi the real reason Shirabu was upset, Kenjirou would be mad at him. He decided to lie just a little bit, for his friends benefit.

"He thought you knew he was gay and you were picking on him for it. I thought that, too. Neither of us knew you weren't straight. This is great," he replied, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Semi felt a little of the tension leak out of his shoulders and he huffed out a laugh. This was pretty ridiculous.

“So we’re cool, then?” Semi asked with a slight smile.

“Not until Kenji hears about this and is no longer upset with you. Best friend code and all that.” Taichi quipped back with a straight face.

Semi supposed he could accept that. After all, he never forgave any of the people that bullied Tendou, even the ones that found him on social media in high school and messaged him to apologize. 

Turning the radio on and giving Semi one last mean look, Taichi went silent barring the occasional “Britney gets me,” or “Christina has me living,” for the rest of the car ride.

The pinch server used this time to think about what he knew now. Shirabu was apparently gay, and Semi couldn’t say he would’ve guessed that. He knew his junior came from money and he figured that he probably had some nice young woman already set up for him to marry the moment he turned 18. He also recalled meeting Shirabu’s father once and he seemed extremely traditional but he hoped he was wrong. He had never met his mother, but maybe she was more lax about these types of things. He found himself wondering how Shirabu didn’t have a boyfriend. Maybe he did and just kept it a secret. He was certainly pretty enough, and for all of his attitude Semi had seen firsthand that he had a much nicer side. 

During the game of truth or dare that ended up causing Semi to run suicides at practice for waking their demon coach, Shirabu was asked about any hobbies he had and everyone was surprised to learn that he was into everything floral. He gardened, pressed flowers, and made many a daisy chain. Nobody believed him until he started showing pictures of his garden. It was honestly kind of cute how proud he was of each and every plant he was growing. When asked what got him into gardening he clammed up a bit and Taichi helped him by changing the subject. When they talked about it without the two second years there, everyone assumed it had to do with a girlfriend or something of that nature. Maybe it was a boyfriend or an ex boyfriend that introduced him to it, rather than a girl.

Shirabu always acted like he couldn’t care less about anyone on the team, but the moment he heard that Goshiki was being bullied by his classmates, those bullies stopped. He said he had nothing to do with it, but the way they all slinked away whenever he was close by and stared at him with eyes wide in fear told a different story. There was also the time whenever Reon came down with the flu and Shirabu hand delivered him a bouquet full of get well flowers and homemade soup when every other player refused to go into the room and risk getting sick. He said he never got the flu from that but the “vacation” he took for a week afterwards seemed a little bit too coincidental to much of the team. 

He wasn’t a bad kid. Sure, he was disrespectful at times to Semi and got irritated easily, but he was pretty well-meaning for the most part. He was also quite attractive whenever you got down to it. He wasn’t the kind of attractive that Ushijima and Reon were, with broad shoulders and thick arms. He didn’t have Tendou’s oddly attractive qualities like his long figure or big eyes. He didn’t have the boyish charm that Goshiki and Yamagata held. He didn’t carry Semi’s mismatch of masculine and feminine qualities. He was a different kind of attractive. He was kind of plain, to be entirely honest. But the appeal was that he was plain without being boring. He looked like a normal pretty boy. He was thinner than most, but he had some definition to him. Shorter than Semi by an inch or two, but still growing. He had a pretty face and styled his hair. But he didn’t act like most pretty boys. He had all of this emotion he was hiding behind his bored face. He was determined and confident. He was smart. And above all, he had a spark underneath everything. Semi had only seen it a few times, but it was surely interesting. To see the normally calm Shirabu gnashing his teeth and swearing was hilariously ill-fitting. It was like seeing Goshiki being calm or Ushijima breakdancing. It just didn’t fit. But somehow, it only made him more attractive. He had very nice eyes, as well. Semi halted his train of thought deciding that thinking to yourself that your junior was very attractive was probably not a good idea.

“Kenji, Yuuji. Yuuji, Kenji,” Yahaba introduced the two with a wave of his arm before sneaking off to go find the drinks.

Glaring at his retreating back and wondering why his friend would leave him here to deal with this alone, Shirabu turned back. 

“My name is Shirabu Kenjirou. Kenji is a stupid nickname he picked up from our other friend,” he sighed and extended a hand.

“I figured, the only Kenji I know isn’t nearly as pretty as you,” the other replied with a smirk before shaking his hand loosely and pulling it away slowly, making sure to run one finger from Shirabu’s wrist down to the end of his fingers. He felt his face heat up and cursed his pale skin, knowing he was already extremely red. The look on his conversational partner’s face told him that the other was amused by this.

Shirabu coughed to try and rid himself of the lump suddenly formed in his throat.

“Right, well, is that your actual name, or like a nickname?” Shirabu asked, trying to seem more put together than he was. He cringed inwardly at his use of the word like and poor volume control.

“Yuuji is the name! Well, it’s my given name, yeah? Terushima Yuuji is my full name. You can definitely call me Yuuji, though. I sure as hell wouldn’t complain,” Terushima replied, looking him over boldly. 

Shirabu decided that he definitely would not be calling him Yuuji. He felt nervous just thinking about it. Before his brain could spiral anymore, Terushima looked at him inquisitively and sighed loudly.

“Is something wrong?” Shirabu asked, frowning. He figured he would have to say more than just one thing to scare him off. 

Terushima must have noticed his nerves spiking because he answered quickly. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… well, why are you here? I can’t get a read on the situation, I guess. I’ve asked Shigeru about you before and he always changed the subject or straight up told me to leave you alone. Shigeru doesn’t do things without thinking them through so this is throwing me off a bit. I didn’t even ask about you recently, and then he messages me telling me I get to meet you. I figured you were already spoken for or something. Did you just get out of a relationship?” he questioned with a tilt to his head.

Feeling his nerves going away some, Shirabu responded. 

“Well, I’m here because I want to be, for the first question. For the second, he and I weren’t in a relationship.” He felt his heart constrict bringing up Semi. So much for being over it, he guessed.

“Something casual, then?” Terushima asked, looking a little surprised. 

Shirabu choked on his spit and wondered when he got so bad at wording things. Shaking his head comically he tried to explain himself.

“No! No! I would never! It’s not like that!” 

“God knows I’m the last person that would judge you for that,” Terushima laughed seeing the color in his cheeks darken. 

“Well it wasn’t. I just had a thing for someone and it was not reciprocated,” Shirabu frowned. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Terushima seemed nice enough but this dwelling on his senior was counterproductive.

At his comment Terushima gasped, pulling his attention from his sad thoughts. 

“Who in the hell would reject you?!” he asked incredulously. At first, Shirabu thought he was joking. Afterall, he never thought that he was anything more than average. But Terushima looked genuine in his surprise. 

“Nobody I’d like to talk about,” Shirabu stated curtly. 

Seeing the slight irritation and knowing that making Shirabu mad wasn’t his plan, Terushima chose to lay off of the conversation.

“So what’s your story? I know you go to Shiratorizawa and you play volleyball, but that’s about it,” he inquired.

“That’s about it. I studied my ass off to get there, so if that’s the only thing people know about me, I wouldn’t be angry.”

This captured Terushima’s attention. 

“So you’re not just a pretty face, then? ‘S been a minute since I talked to someone smart,” Terushima admired. 

Shirabu thought that eventually he would become immune to these compliments, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Blushing, he stuttered embarrassingly,

“I don’t think of myself as smart. I just studied a lot.”

“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”

“Russell, right?” Shirabu wondered with a slight smile.

“Yep! Seems you’re well read. I find that quote to be pretty true. I’m sure you wouldn’t disagree with one of the greats?”

Feeling more confident, Shirabu responded cockily,

“Well, they didn’t become anything great by agreeing with their predecessors.”

Raising an eyebrow at his antics, Terushima leaned towards him slightly. 

“They didn’t become anything great by playing it safe either, did they?”

Shirabu felt his breath from how close they were and stiffened before relaxing. This was a lot more fun than he thought it would be. He knew he was safe and it wouldn’t go further than this. The compliments were nice and he certainly felt like he had all of Terushima’s attention. He smiled coyly and batted his eyelashes, ready for their next exchange. He heard the hitch in Terushima’s breath and the quiet laughter that followed. This night might not be too bad, afterall.


	3. IMPORTANT NEWS

Hello, so this is not an update. I'm just basically thanking you huys for reading this far and putting up with my ridiculously slow updates! I've been really busy recently so its been hard to find time to work on this but a new chapter is in the works and will hopefully be coming out soon!! Thank you again for all of your support!!


End file.
